A weekly news digest** from the National Resource Center on ADHD: A Program of CHADD

"Prescribed psychotropic medications are not being misused or overused among U.S. youth, according to a study using nationally representative data sponsored by NIMH. The study was published December 3, 2012, online ahead of print in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine..." Full Story

Most teens with mental disorders take no medication (USA Today, December 3, 2012)

"A study based on more than 10,000 interviews with teens contradicts the perception that kids are overmedicated...Just 14% of teens with any mental disorder take medications designed to alter emotions or behavior, the study finds. In most cases, the medications are those considered appropriate for their conditions, says the report published online Monday in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine..." Full Story

"It is a known fact that active maternal smoking during pregnancy has negative effects on child health, such as attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, new research suggests that second hand smoke, or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), may be just as harmful..." Full Story

"An electrocardiogram isn't necessary for student athletes or children taking stimulant medications for attention disorders unless the child has cardiac risk factors or a family history of early-onset heart disease. ECGs are not always easy to obtain, and they cost parents money, time, and anxiety, Dr. Christopher Snyder said at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics..." Full Story

"Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) doesn't just affect the individual. It affects the entire family, according to Mark Bertin, MD, a board-certified developmental behavioral pediatrician and author of The Family ADHD Solution... Mindfulness...is defined as the ability to pay attention to your experience with openness and without reactive judgments. When parents practice mindfulness, they not only reduce their stress, but they're able to make better decisions and respond to their child's behavior rather than reacting to it..." Full Story

Invitation to a Dialogue: How to Treat A.D.H.D. (New York Times, December 4, 2012)

"To the Editor: In the span of less than a year, The New York Times has published several news and opinion articles about the use of stimulants to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder that are simultaneously intriguing, disturbing and confounding...The contradictory images of stimulant medication conferring either no benefit or major benefit must be truly dizzying for the reader not familiar with the proper diagnosis and treatment of A.D.H.D...." Full Story